Has anyone tried Mango Tree yet? The WaPo review was pretty good, but Yelp seems to be mixed. I'm trying it tonight with some girlfriends and was looking for ordering guidance. Looks to be quite expensive for Thai, but supposed to be great decor.

With an opening planned for late this week, El Centro D.F. looks to be another fun addition to the 14th Street lineup. Each of the three levels will offer a different experience - slightly more formal dining/drinking in the underground tequileria, more casual eat-in or carry-out in the main level taqueria, and two bars for drinking on the rooftop. (Rooftop bars seems to be this year's "cupcake".) I'm looking forward to yet another good reason to head down to 14th Street! It sure has come a long way from what it was 15-20 years ago.

Late last week the following message was posted to our U-Street area email group:
Some questions were answered at last night's ANC1B meeting on the application for a new restaurant at 1825 14th Street. The placard described the restaurant as "serving Mediterranean fusion cuisine with a focus on Latin and Asian Tapas." At last night's meeting attorney Andrew Kline disclosed that the restauranteur is Richard Sandoval and the chef is Kazuhiro Okochi. Here are links to explore on each of these partners: Richard Sandoval: www.modernmexican.com Kazuhiro Okochi: www.kazsushibistro.com Sandoval already has a presence here in DC with Zengo in Gallery Place. Capacity is estimated at 140 and will also feature a sidewalk cafe with seating for 25. CSNA review of the application will be on the April 9th agenda.
The concept -- "Mediterranean fusion cuisine with a focus on Latin and Asian Tapas" -- sounds pretty circa 1995 and I wouldn't have paid much attention had I not seen Kazuhiro's name attached to the project. Now all of the sudden it sounds interesting. Anyone know anything about it?

Has anyone tried La Sandia yet? It seems to have had a soft opening in the last week. I was thinking of trying it this weekend.
Based on the menu from the Denver location, it seems more casual than Zengo. Hopefully it will be better than Pauli Moto's Asian Bistro, which shouldn't be hard to do.

Last Thursday my wife and I had dinner at Richard Sandoval's restaurant in Treasure Island in Las Vegas, Isla. This is similar to Zengo his restaurant which is scheduled to open this month in D. C. http://modernmexican.com/rs.htm
Isla won the "best of Vegas" award for 2004 from Las Vegas magazine. His Denver outpost won a similar award from Denver magazine and his San Francisco restaurant is highly regarded. Maya, according to that harbinger of excellence and taste Zagat, in New York, is given 24 points for food ranking ahead of Rosa Mexicano and only two points behind the city's highest.
Isla made me long for Rosa Mexicano.
I am not a fan of Rosa Mexicano.
Isla is known for tableside guacamole and 90+ tequilas. Costco has a remarkably good guacamole which is sold in translucent packets, four to the package. Each of these is superior to the green glop that we were served in Vegas. The chips that accompanied these were unusual in that they were considerably thicker, more irregular fried corn curiosities that neither of us cared for. Salsa that accompanied them was imaginatively presented on a two tiered bowl with the top tier housing three different salsas, the best of which was a watery chipotle.
I am obsessed with tortilla soup. I have eaten this all over the United States from El Paso's Camino Real cafe (the best) to (insert name of city). From supermarkets to dumps which have never had another gringo stumble up to their counter to upscale white tablecloth Southwestern temples of hoity toity excellence I have pursued Great tortilla soup.
The search did not stop in Las Vegas. Certainly not at Isla at Treasure Island.
Shrimp ceviche was decent, several steps below the excellent ceviche at Coastal Flats or Guajillo. Queso fundido was good-but not as good as what we had at the nondescript Mexican at the Venetian the next night. A red snapper special disappointed while a boneless pork chop sauced with driblets of cream corn interspersed with mole was actually delicious-almost a Great dish! Side dishes of rice and pedestrian beans made me long for Rio Grande/Uncle Julio's though.
A signature dessert which incorporated very good commercial Cinnamon ice cream and excellent bottled caramel was an appropriate finish to this $150 dinner for two. Three watered down "uptown" margeritas with Grand Marnier and top shelf tequila factored into this.
What can I say? Las Vegas should have great Southwestern food-it's not that far from Phoenix or L. A. Albuequerque's Garduno's has an outpost there (benchmark guacamole and chili colorado that clears any nostril) as does Bobby Flay who some have called New York's best although I'm not certain what this means. Anyway, Isla/Zengo is coming here.
My experience in Vegas was not one to make me stand in line on 7th street until it opens. Hopefully, because our standards are above those of Las Vegas (!) we will be gifted with a restaurant that lives up to the excellence Denver and Las Vegas magazines and Zagat honored their outposts for. Of course I am assuming that Denver, Las Vegas and New York know what exemplery Southwestern and Tex Mex should taste like. Perhaps remarkably, over the years, I have found that great Tex Mex is extremely difficult to find in these cities. San Francisco does have this. But I doubt that any of the taco trucks there which are truly excellent are listed in Zagat or any restaurant guide. And the several mom and pop restaurants in their version of our Riverdale are rarely written about in any review just as the best of Amarillo, Lubbock and El Paso are rarely reported in English in any publication.
I have lowered my expectations for Zengo. I hope I am wrong to have done this.